PRISON PRACTICE CALLED ABUSE

The state is one of the targets of an international human rights group's new report criticizing the treatment of women in prisons around the country.

Connecticut is criticized for being one of only six states that allow male guards to routinely pat-down female inmates. After conducting a survey of prison systems, Amnesty International USA said it found evidence of a growing problem of violence against women in prison.

Connecticut is also deficient because it only prohibits sexual relations between inmates and staff in a supervisory role, the organization said. The restriction does not include clergy, contract workers or medical staff. And the laws are targeted primarily at sexual intercourse, not other forms of sexual abuse. Many women and prisoner-rights advocates have complained about the pat-down procedure at Niantic's York Correctional Institution, the state's only women's prison.

One recently released inmate, who asked that her name not be used, charged in an interview that the pat-downs could be "irritating, frustrating and in some cases frightening." She said when some officers conducted a pat-down, it seemed like they were groping her.

"I know what a pat-down is," she said. "And it doesn't include sliding up and down my legs, up and down my tush and between my legs. And they shouldn't flat-palm over my chest," she said.

The inmate said some guards made sexual advances toward inmates and spied on them while they were changing in their cells or showers. She said nothing is done because some inmates comply with requests for sexual favors and even those who do not cooperate won't complain because they fear retribution.

The executive director of Amnesty International USA said the inmate's complaint is not surprising.

"This is the one of the most common ways sexual abuse is conducted," said William Schulz. "It's just an invitation for sexual abuse."

The study found that 45 states allow men to search women, but Connecticut is one of only six that routinely use the practice.

Connecticut prison officials stand by the use of men to search women.

"All our correction officers are trained to do pat-downs in an appropriate manner," said Heather Ziemba, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction.

And Ziemba said the policy won't change because her department could open itself to discrimination complaints if it uses gender to determine where an officer can work.

According to Amnesty International's findings, as late as two years ago, 14 states had no laws prohibiting sexual relations between inmates and correctional staff. Five states still have no such law.

In four states, inmates can be held criminally liable for engaging in sexual conduct with prison staff. In 19 states, no laws exist to protect inmates from sexual abuse. And in three states, an officer can claim an inmate consented to sex to avoid prosecution.

Schulz said little is being done around the country to address sexual misconduct in prison because most correction officials refuse to acknowledge that sexual abuse is a systemic problem.

"Usually, we're met with a response that sure this occasionally happens, but it only involves a few bad apples," Schulz said.

Schulz said his agency was able to find 1,000 women in 49 states who had been sexually assaulted by prison staff by reviewing newspaper reports and court filings. He said no state tracks sexual incidents in prisons.

"We believe there's a significant underestimation of this problem," Schulz said. "What we've found is just the tip of the iceberg."

He said many women refuse to report sexual abuse because a complaint can land them in segregation, which then results in a loss of privileges.

"There's many forms of sexual abuse and harassment short of intercourse," said Schulz.